Samikhaya Bureau
Odisha government has decided to provide free emergency medicare to accident victims in private hospitals having trauma care facilities. The government decided on in many cases the condition of the victim in the first 48 hours called golden hour is very critical which may lead to death if not managed properly. The government decided to extend free treatment to ensure that the victim does not lose his/her life due to lack of medical treatment.
The state government provided Rs four crore out of the Road Safety Fund to the Health and Family Welfare Department in the first instance for the reimburse of the treatment fund. Official sources said initially the scheme is being started in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and the scheme will be extended to other cities like Rourkela, Berhampur and Sambalpur in phases later. The scheme will be implemented on a pilot basis for six months in AMRI hospital, Bhubaneswar, Appollo hospital Bhubaneswar, and Aswini Hospital Cuttack to assess the financial implication and to take a decision for further continuance of the scheme.
The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the scheme has been developed by the Health and Family welfare department. As per the SOP, if the patient is taken to the private trauma care centre, the hospital will start the treatment immediately and inform the DMET. The DMET will permit the treatment. At the end of 48 hours, the private hospital will submit documents for reimbursement of the cost of treatment. The settled claim amount will be released to the hospital within a week after examination of the documents.
The Commerce and Transport department will deposit the fund in the account opened in the name of ”Free treatment for trauma fund” to be maintained by DMET. A dedicated portal opened by the health and family welfare department will monitor, supervise, permission and release of fund.
